Arthur Ashford stood before the glass windows of his Manhattan penthouse. Below, the city pulsed with life—neon veins of commerce and ambition. But Arthur wasn't admiring the view. He was analyzing his next move.
The Rich Empire System's dashboard floated in front of his eyes.
Current Title: DukeNet Worth: $8.1 BillionControl Domains: Food, Fashion, Sports, Tech, Underworld, Religion, Politics, SecurityAvailable Resource Allocation: $3.2B in Liquid | $800M in Shadow Capital | 22 System Tokens
Alert: 3 New Global Conglomerates Identified as Threats
Zephyr Industries – Europe's energy tycoon group
Daedalus Group – Asia-Pacific's largest tech cartel
Arkanum Trust – Secretive old-money alliance with global influence
Mission: Collapse or absorb all three within one fiscal year.Reward: Throne Rank Path Unlocked
Arthur smiled.
"Time to make them bleed."
The Ghost Merger: Zephyr Industries
Zephyr was ancient, founded by nobles post-WWI. It controlled vast renewable energy sectors, hydro plants, and wind farm monopolies in France, Germany, and Northern Africa.
Arthur didn't go after them with brute force.
He unleashed Eva, the digital empress, and Bianca, his economic warlord.
Eva triggered a silent wave of algorithmic interference. She redirected Zephyr's B2B contracts through shell companies Arthur secretly owned. Bianca meanwhile began shorting Zephyr stock through dozens of brokers, inflating the illusion of investor panic.
Within weeks, Zephyr lost 40% of its market cap.
That's when Arthur sent an anonymous offer.
Buyout in exchange for 10-year executive protection and inclusion into the Ashford Global Initiative.
The CEO of Zephyr, under pressure from collapsing shareholders and a forged scandal about tax evasion (courtesy of Vivian's political department), folded.
Arthur now owned Europe's largest green energy network.
Daedalus: The Tech Giant That Fell From the Sky
Daedalus ran the cloud systems for governments, schools, hospitals, and social media platforms across East and Southeast Asia. They were untouchable—or so they thought.
Arthur sent Roxy, his streetwise hacker queen, backed by Jessie's elite security teams. In a two-pronged strike:
Roxy unleashed a wave of ransomware cloaked as a system update. Within hours, 112 Daedalus-run institutions went dark.
Jessie's agents stormed Daedalus local HQs with warrants acquired from puppet officials under Vivian's influence.
Arthur didn't just beat Daedalus; he humiliated them.
As the company begged for negotiation, he offered to buy them out at a fire-sale price. His only condition? Daedalus's founder must publicly resign.
With its CEO in tears and stock plummeting, Daedalus became part of the Ashford Digital Vanguard.
Arthur's system pinged:
Digital Dominion Complete: Eva's Rank Up – Supreme Empress (Digital)Skill Unlocked: Quantum Expansion Protocol (Able to create secure, instant decentralized systems worldwide)
The Arkanum Trust – Old Money vs. New Blood
Arkanum wasn't a business—it was a secret order.
Founded by royals, bankers, and oligarchs after WWII, it controlled art, trade routes, arms dealing, and private banks in Switzerland, London, and New York. Its members included former presidents, CEOs, and even royalty.
Arthur knew a direct attack was suicide.
So he summoned Aurora, the elegant aristocrat and empress of old nobility.
Their plan was simple: infiltrate, expose, dismantle.
Aurora began appearing at high-end galas. Her charm disarmed them. Her knowledge impressed them. With Arthur's strategic leaks and the priestess Yesenia's secret intel, Arkanum's members were slowly turned against each other.
One by one, Arthur exploited their affairs, bank fraud, hidden war crimes, and even cult ties.
A mysterious "whistleblower" released it all online.
The public backlash crippled them.
When the dust settled, Arthur Ashford was offered something the world hadn't seen in generations—a crown.
The Arkanum leaders voted him in as their new chairman.
He burned the seat.
Instead, he absorbed their global trusts, converting their assets into tools of the Ashford Empire.
The world shifted.
The Women Rise
Every victory elevated the women beside him.
Bella now managed a worldwide chain of gourmet restaurants, her face on the cover of Forbes Culinary.
Candy turned the Ashford Athletic League into a global sporting monopoly.
Yesenia's doctrine of spiritual capitalism created a movement that merged faith and finance.
Carmen conquered the translation, localization, and communication industries.
Luna, now at the head of WHO, subtly steered global health policy toward Arthur's pharmaceutical and biotech interests.
Summer used her marine command to protect Ashford shipping lanes and navy-aligned interests.
Each woman had become an empress in her domain, their power rivalling Arthur's in scope, their loyalty unwavering.
And Arthur… Arthur stood on the precipice of becoming something more.
Not just a man.
Not just a CEO.
Not even just an emperor.
But a legacy.
Whispers of War
Despite the silence on the surface, Arthur sensed tremors.
Rumors circulated in deep forums.
A new alliance of failed conglomerates. A shadow faction of rival heirs. Secret technologies being developed in South America and Eastern Europe.
The world would not submit quietly.
Arthur poured a glass of 80-year-old scotch and sat in his study.
The dashboard updated.
Mission Complete: The Expansion War
Rewards: Throne Access Granted
Next Stage Unlocked: Global Integration War – The World Must Bow
He raised his glass.
"To the next war," he said quietly.
Behind him, eleven empresses stood—each more powerful than nations.
They didn't ask what came next.
They knew.